Are you running an affiliate program and having a hard time finding new affiliates?
Don’t worry, you are not alone.
Everyone is talking about how to promote affiliate links but so few think about the other side of the equation: affiliate program managers.
Without you, the affiliate marketing industry will collapse in a second. Kudos to you :)
You have a few options to promote your affiliate program. Let’s go over them briefly below.
Good old SEO (and UX)
We believe in the “Content is king” approach coupled with providing a good user experience.
What does that mean for your affiliate program?
Our daily routine (we are the team behind the Affiliate Program Database, we will come to that in a minute) allows us to observe and review hundreds of affiliate programs monthly.
One thing is certain when you zoom out. Most of the affiliate programs do not provide a transparent picture and sufficient data about their program. We are talking about their official affiliate program page. Some do not have a page even on their website!
Is it an oversight or laziness?
We don’t know.
How can you expect to attract affiliates if you don’t answer their fundamental questions about your program?
Ok, what to do?
- Start from within. Tell everything about your program publicly on your website.
- Do not hesitate to write your commission structure, openly, in plain sight. With hundreds of potential programs out there to pick, an affiliate will not spend time scanning all your pages to find out how much they will get paid in return. (We do, we search even terms of service pages to find because we want to create a transparent database but affiliates will not waste their time.)
- FAQ page. Please create a page where you answer all possible questions your affiliates may ask. Payment structure, approval process, marketing materials, contact information, cookies, support, dashboards, etc.
- Leave no stone unturned. Create every piece of content as much as you can. Publish them on your company page, make it easy to find and navigate for affiliates.
We think you get the point. Provide a great user experience for affiliates on your website in the first place. Modern search engines excel at following the steps of users. So they will take care of the rest and position your affiliate program where it belongs on their SERPs.
Outside of your website
If you believe you made a good job on your website, let’s pass to the outside of your system.
You can go and have an agreement with an affiliate network like Shareasale, CJ, Clickbank, etc.
They will promote your affiliate program within their system. They have hundreds of thousands of affiliates registered to their network. So it seems like a good choice.
But, a big but, they are costly. They have an entrance fee plus they cut from future commissions onward.
So affiliate networks are not for everyone. Not just the cost of it. Many affiliate managers and their companies look for freedom and flexibility which are limited when you fall inside the boundaries of an affiliate network.
Another option is taking your place on related affiliate program directories and blogs.
We will be biased for this option.
Because most of the directories and blogs presenting affiliate programs are outdated and low-quality.
They show users the programs from 2007 which the company behind it went bankrupt in 2011.
Others are so focused on taking advantage of their users, they encourage you to be a part of a Ponzi scheme so they will take a commission thanks to you.
That’s why we develop and run Affiliate Program Database (APDB). It is an affiliate marketing directory. Unbiased information; reviews by experienced affiliates; Q&A between affiliates & merchants.
You need to check our Unbiased Information Policy to understand what we are trying to make differently.
Good news for you; if you run an affiliate program, we can create or edit your program page on the Affiliate Program Database.
We have guidelines, of course. Mainly we curate the programs that pay cash rather than the programs that compensate the referrer with credits, coupons, or discounts.
For all those guidelines and to learn more please check: https://www.affiliateprogramdb.com/add-edit-your-program/
We want to show the affiliate programs in an honest, transparent, and objective way. We want to be a compass for affiliates in this toxic environment surrounding the industry.
We are looking forward to working with you and helping you find more affiliates.
Thanks for your interest, and may the force be with you :)
We have a LinkedIn group just for affiliate managers: Affiliate Managers Cafe. Affiliate managers only. Behind the scenes of affiliate programs. How to run an affiliate program? Success tips, discussions, affiliate manager jobs, etc.
Do you want to join our community on Reddit? Anything and everything about affiliate marketing: r/AffiliateMarketing247
